Puffin marvellous

Seahouses and the Farne Islands

Although I have only been riding for three days I decided to take a day off and visit the Farne Islands whilst I have the opportunity. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to see Puffins and what better place to fulfill this wish than the Farnes?

This group of small rocky islands sits just off the coast of Northumberland between Seahouses and Bamburgh. The islands are an important sea bird sanctuary and the Longstone Lighthouse sits on the north eastern fringe to warn shipping of the hazard. The islands that is, not the birds.

I started my day by moving from one B&B to another, the place I stayed last night had promised two nights but on arrival I was told that they had made a mistake & could only accommodate me for one! The first place was very posh but not really that nice, I wish I had had two nights in the place I am in now, cheaper and more relaxed and a really nice landlady. Plus a decent wifi signal.

Once I had moved all my stuff I set out to explore the town. Seahouses is a destination for local days out and has for many years been a popular holiday destination for the workforce of the north east. Originally a fishing port it would now appear to be supported largely by tourism. Trips to the Farnes are obviously a big attraction. It also has the highest density of fish and chip shops that I have ever seen. I tried one, it was good but not as good as the one I tried in Leeds.

The coast here has long sandy beaches backed by dunes and the water is crystal clear, so a walk along the beach seemed like a good idea. It was invigorating to say the least, the wind was blowing hard from the north as I set off towards Bamburgh. I really enjoyed it, there were lots of walkers, many with dogs, all sampling the elements. I walked for about an hour then went to find a bite to eat before my trip to see the birds.

There are quite a few businesses running boats to the bird sanctuary. I imagine that the numbers are quite carefully controlled as the islands are a very important breeding ground for many varieties of sea bird and they also support a large colony (3,000+) of Atlantic Seals, even though this is the North Sea. There was a large contingent of Dutch birders waiting their turn to go, most of them carried serious tripods and cameras with huge lenses; many of them were dressed in cammo clothing, my red cycling jacket felt a bit brash.

My boat left the harbour at 2:00pm, the passenger carrying part of the boat was uncovered but it looked as though we might escape getting wet. The islands are about 30 minutes from the harbour. As we approached the islands the number of birds started to become evident, from a distance the rocks just look as though they are covered in guano, but most of the white patches are actually covered with birds. The air was alive with shrieking sea birds, squabbling over food, nest space and probably prospective mates. There were also lots of birds just bobbing about in the water, it must be nice to be well enough insulated just to sit on the surface and watch the world go by. Once we were closer to the rocks the strong ammoniacal smell of bird poo irritated the nostrils, similar to entering a chicken shed.

The main varieties of birds nesting on the islands are Puffin, Guillemot, Kittiwake, Razorbill, three varieties of Tern, Shag, Cormorant, and Eider. There are quite a few other varieties recorded from time to time but the aforementioned are the most common sea bird varieties.

The boat also fitted in a look at one of the seal colonies, they are almost as appealing as dolphins with their Labrador like faces, large eyes and long whiskers. They all looked quite relaxed, lying about checking out the days quota of tourists.

Once we had done a tour, with some useful commentary from the skipper; we were landed on Inner Farne to have a wander around. It was quite extraordinary to be able to walk around the island with so many nesting birds. There are designated paths, but you can get very close to many of the nests and the birds generally seem quite unconcerned, the Eiders seem especially chilled. The Arctic Terns get quite aggressive once they have eggs but it is still relatively early in the season; egg laying will take place soon then it seems you need to wear a hat!

You can see from the photos how many scores of birds there are, numbers beyond imagination. In the visitor centre there are numbers recorded by the wardens, the only one I can remember is for the Puffins, over 30,000.

The boat left for the return journey at 4:30pm, as we left the heavens opened, it was heavy soaking rain. I arrived back with the only pair of non-cycling trousers I have with me absolutely dripping and I had arranged to meet a friend for supper.

My obliging landlady managed to dry my trousers and I had a very nice pub supper with an old work colleague. I nice way to round off a memorable day.